Pups on Furniture - Yes or No

Q: We were told that allowing our Great Dane puppy on the couch would make her think she was our equal? Is there any truth to that? She is allowed on the couch, but she still gets off when she is asked. I didn't think that having her share my seat would effect her view on our pack hierarchy! I'd love your thought on this.

A: Whoever told you that was more or less right. Letting a young dog have unfettered access to furniture can send very confusing signals about rank and status. I would suggest you allow the dog to grow up a bit first, make sure he or she is very well trained and respects you and then teach him or her that they can only get on the furniture with your permission. In other words, he or she should wait to be invited up.

Dog rank issues

Your Question: My ~3yr old Pit Bull attacked my 13yr old border collie (the queen dog). After a new small terrier had been introduced to the family, (with us for 2 months, and had become a playmate with the PB). The border collie barked at the little terrier. How do I go about defusing the dog-dog issue? Can I get it back to the more neutral situation?

Answer:

Hi there,

Thanks for your inquiry. This is a very complex issue and has to do with pack/rank dynamics that can be tricky to sort out. If a younger dog is going after the older one it may be a sign that she's taking over. Adding a third dog may have thrown the entire pack structure up in the air and everyone is testing now. The thing is, you have to be perceived by all dogs as the leader, which would put you in the position to control the conflict in the group. If this is not unequivocally the case, it needs to be. Then we also have to sort out which of the dogs is the natural leader and reinforce that dog in its hierarchically appropriate position with preferential treatment that is apparent to all dogs. At the same time, if you've established yourself as leader you should be in a position to reprimand lower ranking pack members for inappropriate overtures and posturing towards more dominant dogs and also reprimand the more dominant dogs for any bullying behaviors.

Anyway, like I said, it's complex. If you end up with more fights you should get professional help asap!

Accidents in the bed

Your Question: My husband & I have a 5-month-old dachshund/spaniel female puppy who has started to pee & poop on our bed whenever we go out for errands or are at work. Although she doesn't do it every single time we're out of the house, she has been doing it almost every other time (we make sure to leave clean puppy pads out for her when we're not home too). When we're at home, she's well-behaved and knows that she isn't allowed on the bed unless we invite her, and she pees & poops when we take her out. We're absolutely at our wit's end, and aren't sure what the cause of this behavior might be. Is it separation anxiety or is it an assertion of dominance? How do we correct this behavior? Thank you.

Answer:

Hi there,

Thanks for your inquiry. I would begin by confining the dog when you are gone. An ex-pen, some baby gates in a hallway or a crate would do it. It may be connected to separation anxiety - hard to tell. Check out the section regarding separation anxiety on this site and see if you find anything useful there. 

Also, a five month old pup, no matter how good she's been doing on housebreaking, IS NOT housebroken. You can't consider your pup reliably housebroken until she's six to eight months of age and hasn't had an accident in two months. Prior to that it's on you to confine, supervise, regulate the pup until that target has been reached. You can check the housebreaking section on this site as well. Lots of helpful info there.

Bringing a pit pup into the mix

Question: Hi Mike, I currently have a service dog (100% Black Lab), who is very submissive dog. We are thinking of adopting a 13 week old lab mix from an adoption agency. We are not sure what the puppy is mixed with and afraid it may be pit bull. I've heard that pits can be unpredictable, even with the best training. Is this true and something to be concerned about? What should we look for when we meet this female pup?

Answer:

Hi Kathy,

That's a complex and charged question. I think the main thing to look for in the pup is sociability with people and with dogs. With respect to dogs I would observe her playing with other pups. Does she always need to be on top, pinning the other pup down. Is she overly rough and seemingly insensitive to the other dog's play level? These are not good signs. You want to find a pup that would be about evenly on top or the bottom, would be able to take the other pup's play signs and level of intensity into consideration and basically be a balanced, fun-spirited player that is sensitive to the other dog's play interest. A bad sign would be the pup that mows everyone down, is insensitive to the other dog's willingness to play and so on. This often leads to very problematic behaviors later.

And yes, while it might not be politically correct to say, Pit Bulls are not like other dogs. They have a way higher tendency toward dog aggression and use a way higher level of force when they are triggered. Of course, this is a generalization and may not apply to a particular individual. But it's a bit of a potential red flag, though I wouldn't necessarily consider it a deal killer. Observe the pup and see what you think.

My Dog doesn't like Men - Now What?

Q: We just rescued our dog Mochi two months ago. He's a 6 year old Silky Terrier, and this is his 5th home in the past 6 months. We love him to death and he's doing great in our home, but he's really nervous around men and often times when they walk past him he sometimes "plunges" at them and tries to bite on their leg (he's never actually bitten someone, but he often catches their jeans and it freaks me out, so I try to keep him close when men are around. This never happens on walks, but normally when we're in a closed environment.). It took him a while to get used to my fiance, but they're best friends now. 

We think he used to be abused from a past owner by a man :( Is there anything we can do to make him more comfortable around guys and have him trust them more? We try letting them give him treats, but he's still pretty nervous. Thank you for any help!

-Gina

Hi Gina,

Thanks for your inquiry. There are two approaches that I would use simultaneously. The first is pretty obvious: have any and all men give him as many treats as he'll take. You cannot do too much of this. Over time this should help to relax him around men. But this takes time so you have to be patient, consistent and persistent. It could take six months to a year to see lasting and dramatic changes. The second thing is that he has to learn that no matter how fearful he might be, he simply CANNOT lunge at anyone. That means he has to be reprimanded for doing this - not by the men, but by you. This is important! Any reprimands coming from the guys will just freak him out more. You have to do it so that he associates this with your authority. 

Only having men give him treats without effectively reprimanding the behavior will never teach him that shows of aggression are always inappropriate. Some ways to reprimand him would include a Pet Corrector, a canister of compressed air available at good pet shops, a snappy leash correction if he's on a leash, a squirt on the nose with a water bottle - whatever works for your dog.

Putting these two items together should, with patience, resolve the behavior reliably.

Poisoned Meatballs on SF Streets - WTF?

 This is a special post for the Ask Mike section based on a current local event. 

As most of you have probably heard by now, within the last few weeks some deranged lunatic has been placing poisoned meatballs around San Francisco streets in hopes of killing neighborhood dogs. In fact, a number of dogs have been sickened and at least one has died. While there is no explaining why some people are driven to prey on the lives and emotions of innocent neighbors and their pets, thankfully there are many things you can do to protect your dog from such madness.

The first, of course, is vigilance. When out walking your dog survey the scene ahead of you and try to be as aware as possible of what you and your dog are approaching. Steer clear of suspicious items which would include any food items.

Second, be sure that your dog is well trained, at least with respect to leash walking and the command "off." Specifically, use whatever combination of gear and methodology you need to to ensure that your dog does not pull on the leash. If your dog is pulling madly on the leash it's guaranteed that a) he's in his own world and on the hunt, paying little if any attention to you; b) you're distracted by the pulling and thus much less able to be aware of things you might be approaching that could be dangerous to your dog and c) even if you are aware of such dangers you'll have fairly little control over your dog with which to effectively respond.

Additionally, be sure that your dog is very responsive to the command "off" or "leave it." Very responsive means that when you say it once in a commanding tone of voice your dog will back off from whatever he's focused on and turn his attention to you.

Lastly, DO NOT walk your dog around city streets without a leash on! Ever!!! People do this all the time and it absolutely drives me insane. Not only do dogs routinely get killed for this very stupid reason (over a hundred dogs I've worked with over the years have been killed by cars for this singular reason) but in relation to the question at hand, off leash your dog will be guaranteed to find that meatball or whatever else way before you have a chance to respond.

In short, be attentive and take the time to train your dog. It protects his life and your mental and emotional well-being.